


Surrender This Broken Heart

by shadowtraveled (meteorfest)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-03-02 00:43:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2793566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meteorfest/pseuds/shadowtraveled
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Direct sequel to Allarica's "<a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/2396318">Raising the White Flag</a>", in which Mitchell has to face the fact that the boy he's had a crush on for years is now dating his new best friend. A broken heart is never easy to bear, especially for a child of Aphrodite. Nico, however, thinks he has a solution.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surrender This Broken Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Allarica](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allarica/gifts).



> Since this is a sequel, I would recommend reading "Raising the White Flag" before continuing here. It's significantly shorter than this fic, so it shouldn't take long and Allarica deserves the attention. Also, in this fic, Mitchell’s personality and character (and last name) are influenced heavily through her RP portrayal of him and Will is written as a mix of my personal headcanons and his canon portrayal because, after playing him for a year, I won’t give up my headcanon!Will for canon easily.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Nico watched Mitchell closely, looking for any kind of response from the son of Aphrodite as they sat on the beach. The sun had set and the stars were starting to dot across the sky, constellations  slowly forming above the two boys. Mitchell was uncharacteristically quiet, knees drawn up to his chest and arms wrapped around himself, trying to make himself as little as possible. Nico waited, giving Mitchell as much time to answer as he needed. He wasn’t going to push his friend.

“Is there something I should have said?” Mitchell asked, voice soft as he spoke. What was he supposed to say? He’d been blind to the fact that Nico and Will were growing closer, right under his nose. The signs had been there; Drew had warned him. He’d subconsciously ignored them, his sight tinted by rose-colored glasses where Nico and Will were involved. “Would it have made a difference if you knew?”

Nico didn’t answer right away, one hand dropping to the ground, fingers digging into the sand. A sigh softer than a whisper fell from the son of Hades’ lips. “Well...if I’d known, I probably wouldn’t have - “

“And I couldn’t be responsible for that,” Mitchell told him. He spoke through the lump in his throat, just barely keeping his voice from cracking. Nico was finally happy; he had no right to take that away from the son of Hades, from his friend. "Nico, you're happy with him. I've seen the two of you together. You _smile_ now. I've heard you _laugh_. I can't take that from you."

Nico bit his lip, still feeling guilty for Mitchell's grief. He hadn't known that Mitchell liked Will. When the son of Apollo had first approached him, brought him out of his own shadows, and gave him reason to stay, to believe that he had a home at the camp, Nico hadn't had any reason to believe that Mitchell, who had befriended him shortly after, had any interest in Will. All the times they’d been hanging out, Nico had never noticed anything that might have suggested that Mitchell liked Will.

“I’m sorry,” Nico told the other boy, voice quiet as he dropped his gaze to his battered black boots.

“Don’t be,” MItchell insisted, though there was an almost inaudible crack in his voice that made it clear to Nico that the son of Aphrodite was trying to keep his composure. It broke his heart to say it, but he wouldn’t let Nico feel guilty for falling in love with Will. “Just be happy with him, okay? You deserve to be happy.”

Nico lifted his head to try to meet Mitchell’s gaze, but the other boy looked away. “So do you.”

Mitchell shook his head. “Don’t worry about me,” he replied. He bit his lip, trying to keep himself collected, though he wanted to cry. “I’ll find my own happiness some time.”

With that, Mitchell turned on his heel to leave. He couldn’t talk to Nico anymore at the moment. Not when his heart was breaking more and more with every word. There was only so long he could hold it all in. He ignored Nico’s call for him to wait and headed for his cabin. His siblings were all out at the volleyball court for a late evening game, so he had the cabin to himself. As he threw himself onto his bunk, Mitchell found himself, for the first time he could recall, hating the cheerful pink décor that surrounded him in his time of grief.

* * * * *

For a few days after the conversation with Nico, Mitchell was able to avoid any other confrontations. He stayed close to Lacy, hanging out with her and talking to her about everything and anything that had nothing to do with Will, Nico, or his own broken heart. He stopped walking by the archery range to see if Will was teaching an archery class that day. He no longer looked towards the Apollo table at meals to catch a glimpse of the smile he’d fallen in love with so long ago as Will chatted with his siblings. He didn’t even go to the camp fire, knowing that he’d see Will and Nico sitting together as the Apollo kids led the camp in every cheerful camp song that seemed to mock Mitchell’s pain.

After a week, Mitchell just wanted to go home. The summer session didn’t end for a couple more weeks, extended this year because of the dealings with Gaea, the re-organization of Camp Half-Blood and their union with Camp Jupiter, but Mitchell was ready to go home, away from the cheer and heartbreak. Even the mostly empty penthouse suite, where Mitchell lived with a couple of housemaids and a father that was often away on business was better than camp right now. At least at home, he wouldn’t have to face his own heartbreak every day.

Was that how Nico had felt? Nico had told Mitchell of his crush on Percy, how even now, he still had lingering feelings for the son of Poseidon. First crushes, especially ones that had lasted so long and had run so deeply, were never truly forgotten. They were always there, just at the back of the mind, with the occasional “what if?” stirring up the emotions. That, Nico had said, was part of the reason he’d never been able to stay at Camp Half-Blood before. Would the same happen to Mitchell now? Would he want to leave forever, pushed away from camp because of those “what if?” questions in his mind every time he saw Will with Nico?

He didn’t want that. He was a son of Aphrodite, damn it! He wanted love to flourish, even if it wasn’t _his_ love. He should be happy for Nico. He should be happy for Will. Even if he didn’t have Will, he’d find someone else, eventually, right? Someone who’d love him and make him forget about Will, about the years he’d spent trying to get to know Will, to find out whether the son of Apollo liked boys, to work up the courage to talk to Will without blushing and stammering like a kid on the playground.

He’d had chances, brief ones, that had given him hope. There was the seven minutes in heaven when Mitchell was thirteen and locked in a closet with fourteen-year-old Will Solace, with his sunshine-yellow braces and 2010 Zac Efron haircut. They’d only talked, both of them feeling awkward, Mitchell nervous and Will worried that kissing with his new braces wouldn’t be much fun. Towards the end of the seven minutes, Will had reached for his hand and pressed a single, incredibly chaste kiss to Mitchell’s lips, to make the time they’d spent in the closet worth it. That was the first time Mitchell had realized that his crush ran much deeper than simple attraction and was the starting point for everything that came after.

Mitchell still had the hoodie that Will had offered him during the Fourth of July fireworks one year, after Connor had soaked the son of Aphrodite with a series of water balloon shots that had ruined his hair. Will had never asked for it back, seemed to have forgotten that Mitchell had it. It no longer smelled like Will, but it hung in Mitchell’s closet at home, unworn except for the rare occasion where he’d slip it on just to imagine Will’s arms around him. He remembered how Will had insisted that Mitchell stay to watch the fireworks, that they were especially good that year, though Mitchell didn’t recall actually seeing the fireworks because he’d been sitting with the boy he was slowly falling in love with and who wanted to watch _fireworks_ when _Will Solace_ was smiling and cheering for the colorful explosions overhead?

There was also the time he’d fallen from his pegasus when he was first learning to ride. Will had been the healer on duty that day and Mitchell remembered those gentle hands on his torso, fingers carefully checking for broken ribs. Mitchell had been in so much pain that he’d needed to be sedated and, through the fogginess of the sedatives, he could almost remember telling Will that he was cute and suggesting they should date. He very vaguely remembered Will kissing his cheek, but that could have been a drug-induced dream while he recovered from his injuries. Will hadn’t said anything about it when he woke up the next day, only told Mitchell that the nectar and ambrosia had done their jobs, but he should take it easy for another day or so.

Why hadn’t he taken one of those chances? What had stopped him besides his own nerves? He could have asked Will out. In retrospect, being rejected because Will didn’t like boys would have been better than finding out Will _did_ like boys by watching him with Nico.

Gods, he needed to stop thinking about them and just _move on_.

He was half-way to packing, clothes strewn about on his bed with his suitcase open, when there was a knock at the cabin door.  His siblings were all out at the beach today, most of them sunbathing if not watching the Hebe kids playing volleyball with the Apollo kids, leaving Mitchell alone in the now too pink cabin with his thoughts. With all of them gone, Mitchell didn’t want to open the door, having the sneaking suspicion that it was Nico again; the son of Hades had been trying to see him for a couple of days now, but Mitchell had asked his siblings to tell Nico that he wasn’t in.

Now he didn’t have anyone to tell Nico. Left with little choice, Mitchell went to the door and opened it. As expected, there stood Nico. The younger demigod was clearly surprised that Mitchell had actually opened the door, as he was half-turned to walk away in dejection when the door had opened.

“Oh, you’re going to see me _now_ , huh?” Nico asked, a hurt tone in his voice. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for a _week_ , Mitchell.”

“I wasn’t in a sociable mood,” Mitchell replied, as if that made up for refusing to see the boy who’d become one of his closest friends in the short time since Mitchell had approached him and flat out told Nico he wanted to hang out. Nico had been reluctant at first because Mitchell was a child of Aphrodite, but they’d bonded after a few days. Mitchell knew that Nico considered him to be one of his closest friends, after Reyna and Will.

“You’re an Aphrodite kid,” Nico pointed out. “You’re _always_ sociable.”

“That’s stereotyping,” Mitchell countered. “What if I said you’re a Hades kid, you’re _always_ dreary and dull?”

“Six weeks ago, you would have been right.” Nico gave a shrug. A lot about Nico had changed in just the short time since Gaea had tried to destroy the camp and now, as he stood willingly on the porch of the pinkest, cleanest, most cheerful-looking cabin on the camp grounds. Six weeks ago, he wouldn’t have even _considered_ approaching the Aphrodite cabin, much less going up to the door and knocking to see one of the kids there. “So can we talk now?”

“Aren’t we already?” Mitchell shrugged back at Nico and gestured for the younger demigod to come inside.

Nico stepped into the Aphrodite cabin and caught sight of the suitcase on Mitchell’s bunk. He turned to the other boy with one slim eyebrow raised. “I thought we weren’t being sent home until the thirty-first?”

Mitchell raised his hand to run his fingers through his hair - a habit he’d picked up from watching Will - and immediately dropped his hand to his side a moment later. “Yeah, well, I know the camp session’s been extended because of the union of the camps thing, but I need to get home. Dad’s expecting me back so I’m ready to start school again. Senior year and all, you know.”

Nico clearly wasn’t convinced that Mitchell was being completely truthful. And of course, the excuse of school was only a partial truth; Mitchell just didn’t want to tell Nico the real reason he was packing to leave. He couldn’t tell him. How do you tell your friend that his happiness broke your heart? There simply wasn’t a way to do it.

“I talked to Will,” Nico told him.

Mitchell gave a start, turning to the son of Hades with his eyes wide in shock. “Y-you _what_?!” he demanded, voice rising half a pitch. “Nico, you _didn’t_! By my mother, you didn’t tell him!”

“I’m not stupid,” Nico replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s not my place to tell him that you like him. That’s like if you told Percy that I still liked him, even though I told him I didn’t.”

One of the first things Nico had told Mitchell in confidence had been his lingering feelings for Percy Jackson. Though Nico had told Percy that he was over his crush on the older boy, he’d confessed to Mitchell that he’d lied to Percy. Yeah, he was getting over his crush, but it took more than a couple of days to get over a crush that had lasted for so long. He still thought about Percy sometimes, about the “what ifs” that occasionally spoke up in the back of his mind.

“Then what did you talk to him about?” Mitchell asked. He pulled his lower lip between his teeth, biting down slightly in trepidation.

Nico sat on the bed across from Mitchell’s and let his arms rest across his thighs as he slumped forward. “I...asked him if he’s happy with me.”

“That’s stupid,” Mitchell told him, immediately pushing his own feelings aside and focusing on his friend. “Nico, have you _seen_ him? He’s obviously happy with you! And you’re happy with him, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but - ”

“No, there is no ‘but’ here, Nico.” Mitchell couldn’t believe that Nico would think for a second that Will wasn’t happy with him. Why would he? Was it because of what Mitchell had said, about the long standing crush he had on Will? “This isn’t because of me, is it?”

“Mitchell, you love him.”

Mitchell flinched, Nico’s blatant statement feeling like a stab to his heart. He hadn’t even said outright that he loved Will, but Nico had picked up on it easily, possibly because the younger demigod knew what it was like to be in love with someone you couldn’t have. He wanted to deny it, wanted to say he didn’t love Will, so he could move on and Nico could be happy with the son of Apollo.

He just...couldn’t.

“Y-yeah, I do,” Mitchell admitted. “But he’s not mine to love. He never was.”

A silence fell between the two boys now, Mitchell grieving and Nico wondering. Neither of them dared to break the silence for a long few minutes, even as Mitchell moved to start folding some of his clothes to be put in the suitcase on his bed. Gods, he needed to get out of camp. He was going to call Suzanna ASAP to have the kindly housemaid come pick him up so he could just go home and have his grief where he couldn’t be seen.

“What if he could be?” Nico asked.

“No, Nico,” Mitchell immediately answered, voice firm even as he shook, wanting to say yes, wanting his chance with the boy he loved. “I won’t take him away from you.”

“You wouldn’t be,” Nico pointed out. He stood from the bed he’d been sitting on and stepped over to his friend, lightly putting his hand on Mitchell’s to stop the other boy from packing. “Mitchell, you’re aware that some people can be with more than one person, right?”

Mitchell turned to stare at the son of Hades, eyes slightly wider than normal and mouth dropped partially open. Just by looking at Nico, he could tell that the younger boy was not suggesting this in jest. Not that he thought Nico would have a sense of humor that cruel - he’d always thought Nico had a dark sense of humor, but since befriending him, had come to realize that his sense of humor actually wasn’t as macabre as most people thought. Still, Nico was actually serious about this; there wasn’t a hint of mire on the other boy’s face as Nico looked back at him.

“Are you seriously suggesting…?”

“You, me, and Will?” Nico asked. At least the younger boy had the decency to be blushing, Mitchell noted, as Nico’s cheeks pinkened slightly. “Why not? You and I both care about Will. I care about both of you.”

Mitchell bit his lip, not sure how to react. He wasn’t sure how anyone reacted to being asked to join a couple as a third. Where had this even come from? “Did...Did Drew put you up to this?”

“What? No!” Nico shook his head. “Mitchell, Drew didn’t have anything to do with this. I talked to Will and - ”

Mitchell dropped a half-folded shirt into his suitcase and straightened. “I have to go,” he told Nico quickly, not even bothering to come up with an excuse for why before heading for the door. He doubted he’d be able to give an excuse if he came up with one, the way his throat was constricting, hot tears stinging at his eyes.

"Mitchell, wait!"

Of course, Mitchell wasn’t going to wait. He couldn’t face Nico right now, not when the offer Nico had made was everything he wanted and still _not at all_ what he wanted. He wanted Will, had wanted Will for a long time, and Nico was offering Mitchell a chance to have Will - with Nico. He didn’t think he could do that. How could he share the boy he’d been in love with for so long?

Heading out of the Aphrodite cabin, Mitchell hurried away from the cabin green, towards the strawberry fields. No one was in the fields at this time of the day, with the Demeter kids having already done their magic on the vines to help push the berries into freshness that morning with Pollux. Mitchell was free to sit around on one of the stumps in the berry patch that the satyrs sometimes danced on while playing their pipes to encourage the plants to grow. He could stay there for a while and collect himself again before returning to his cabin. Hopefully, Nico wouldn’t stick around to wait for him to come back.

What was he supposed to do here? What was he supposed to think? He’d never considered being in a three-way relationship before; he’d never wanted to be part of one. His mother was part of one of the most notorious love-triangles known to mankind and that wasn’t what Mitchell wanted in his own life. Then again, there was a huge difference between his mother’s constant philandering with Ares behind Hephaestus’ back and Mitchell potentially being in a mutual relationship with two other boys. If he, Will, and Nico were to…

Well, he wasn’t ready to think about that, yet.

Heaving a sigh, Mitchell propped his elbow against his knee and dropped his chin into his hand, giving a distinct pout to no one in specific. He leaned forward and plucked one of the strawberries closest to him and brought it to his lips to bite into it. The berry wasn’t quite perfectly ripe, but it was still sweet and full of juice that had the son of Aphrodite running his tongue over his lip to catch that little bit that dripped from the berry after a bite.

Mitchell had sworn off stress-eating months ago, but two or three strawberries weren’t terrible, right? As he reached for another strawberry, he heard the sound of another person walking through the field, approaching him. He pulled his hand back and tried to compose himself, hoping it wasn’t Nico coming up to him. Give him Pollux. Give him Travis and Connor. Give him Piper or Lacy. He’d even take Percy “10.5” Jackson at this point, just _anyone_ but Nico.

“Hey,” came a soft, if a little awkward-sounding greeting.

Mitchell inwardly cursed and wondered just which god (or goddess) he’d gotten on the wrong side of that his prayers were being answered in the worst possible ways. First his prayer for Will to show _some_ sign of liking boys had been answered by Will asking Nico out and now his prayer for _anyone but Nico_ had been answered by it being Will “Life-Ruiner” Solace.

He wanted to yell in frustration, curse the gods for mocking his pain, but instead, he just answered with his own soft ‘hey’ in return.

“Mind if I sit with you?” Will asked.

 _Yes, I mind,_ Mitchell thought.  His mind and mouth disagreed with each other, though. “Go ahead.”

Will sat down next to Mitchell on the large stump and reached for one of the strawberries, plucking it from the vine and biting off the end. Mitchell resisted the urge to stare at the way Will’s lips curled around the berry and how the other boy’s tongue just peeked out to sweep over his lips. What did he do to deserve such torment? Cheeks flushed, Mitchell looked away from the other boy, fists clenching at the jeans he wore.

“I’m sorry,” Will said. “Nico told me what happened.”

Mitchell tensed. Of course, Nico had told Will. Why else would the son of Apollo come talk to him? “I hope you’re not apologizing for him,” he told the older boy. “If that’s why you’re here, I’m leaving.”

Will hesitated, then shook his head. “It’s not the _only_ reason I’m here. I wanted to talk to you.”

“Because I haven’t been ‘talked to’ enough today.”

Will bit his lip, pain flashing briefly in his eyes. “Mitchell, I know you’re upset. You’ve been upset for days. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you hiding from everyone.”

“What I do is my own business, Solace.”

Will flinched this time. “Look, Mitchell. I just want to know one thing.”

“Don’t, Will,” Mitchell told him, a soft plea in his voice. He stood up, ready to bolt if necessary. _Please don’t ask what I know you’re going to ask._

Will caught Mitchell’s hand, proactively trying to keep the other boy from leaving. “Please, Mitchell. All I want to know is what you feel about it.”

Mitchell tried to tug his hand away, refusing to look at Will, refusing to let the son of Apollo see the hot tears that were gathering in his eyes again. “Let go, Will!” It was bad enough that he couldn’t have Will. It was even worse that Will’s hand on his was so warm, grip just firm enough to keep Mitchell from running away; not enough to be a restraining control, but rather like a weight to tie him down. Mitchell’s attempt to get away failed more because it was half-hearted than because of Will’s grip. “Wasn’t it bad enough the guy I’ve loved for years suddenly starts flirting and holding hands with my new friend? Do you really have to do this to me?”

Will looked like he’d been slapped, Mitchell’s words like a physical hit to the son of Apollo. His brow crinkled and he bit his lip again, his grip on Mitchell’s hand tightening for a brief moment. “...Is that how you really feel?” he asked, voice gentle, quiet. “You’ve...loved me for years?”

Mitchell didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He’d caught himself the moment the words had fallen from his lips and he regretted it. He’d wanted to tell Will for so long, but had never been able to muster up the courage to face his feelings for the older demigod. Now he’d confessed too late, after losing his chances. It was worse than the rejections he’d imagined and lived in fear of for years. He tugged harder now, trying to pull out of Will’s grip.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’m not talking about this,” Mitchell replied, voice cracking from the sob that was trying to escape him. Gods, he couldn’t cry in front of Will! “Let me _go_ , Will.”

“After you tell me why you never said anything,” Will insisted, quietly.

“You think I _could_ say anything?” The words snapped from Mitchell, though he still wouldn’t look at Will. “I couldn’t even _talk_ to you without blushing or stuttering like an idiot and you want a _confession_? I didn’t even know you liked guys! I didn’t want to be rejected or heartbroken!”

_And look where I ended up anyways._

“Mitchell, I _kissed_ you,” Will reminded him.

“Because Silena picked us for that _stupid_ game!” Mitchell’s chest felt like it was going to implode from how much it tightened at the memory. At the time, he hadn’t been sure if he wanted to smother his sister with her pillow or with grateful hugs, but now he just wanted to forget it had ever happened.

“Because I _wanted_ to,” Will countered.

Mitchell froze at that argument. _No, William Solace, you did **not** just say that._

Will stood up now, still holding Mitchell’s hand. He moved so he was standing in front of MItchell, bringing his free hand up to touch his fingers to the other boy’s cheek, though he didn’t try to make Mitchell look at him. “I tried to hint to you that I liked you,” he said softly. “I thought...I thought you weren’t interested.”

 _Weren’t interested?_ Mitchell inwardly cursed the son of Apollo. How did Will come to _that_ conclusion? _**Weren’t** interested. I am going to **kill** you, Will Solace._

“I was wrong, wasn’t I?” Will asked. His hand slid on Mitchell’s cheek, palm lightly caressing his skin and thumb smoothing just under the corner of the son of Aphrodite’s eye, where Mitchell could feel a tear beginning to slide down. “I’m sorry, Mitchell.”

Before Mitchell could answer or tell Will not to apologize, the older boy leaned in close, tilting Mitchell’s head up at last, and pressed their lips together. Mitchell outright froze right then and there, mind going blank and eyes widening. It was much like their first kiss, that chaste kiss Will had given him in that closet years ago. The only differences now were the circumstances and the intensity of the feelings between them. Will held the kiss for a long moment, never deepening it, keeping it simple and light.

When he pulled away, Will gave a shake of his head. “I know that’s probably the last thing you wanted right now, but - “

Mitchell cut him off, throwing his arms over Will’s shoulders and pulling the taller boy down before kissing him. This time, it was a proper kiss, none of that chaste stuff. If he was going to kiss Will Solace, he was going to kiss him for all he was worth. Their lips crashed together, parting slightly as Mitchell let one hand bury in Will’s golden locks. Will’s hands found Mitchell’s hips and he pulled the younger boy close as he kissed back, though he let Mitchell control the kiss. They didn’t part for a good while, Mitchell putting every bit of withheld longing into the kiss and only breaking it when he needed to breathe.

Will pulled in a long breath, exhaling a moment later, leaning in and touching his forehead to Mitchell’s. “About Nico’s offer…”

“Will, don’t. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I won’t complicate things for NIco. Not when he’s finally happy.”

“It’s not complicating things,” Will pointed out. “This was his idea.”

“That doesn’t make anything about this easier.” Mitchell shook his head and pulled away from Will, away from the other boy’s touch. He felt terrible. His throat was constricted, his chest hurt, and he could feel the beginning of a headache coming on. “I have to go, Will.”

Will frowned, concern crossing his features. “Mitchell, are you alright? You look pale.”

“I’m fine,” Mitchell lied. He gave another shake of his head and backed away from Will. “I just...gotta go.”

Will didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push the matter. “Will you think about it?”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.”

Mitchell waved him off and pivoted on his heel before leaving the strawberry fields in a hurry. He left Will behind and all but ran back to his cabin, hand clutching at his collar. He went immediately to the bathroom and locked himself in, sitting on the pristine floor and leaning against the wall. A few minutes later, he heard the door the cabin open and the voices of a couple of his siblings echoing in the otherwise empty cabin. One of them came over to the door and knocked.

“Occupied!” Mitchell called through the door.

"Whatever," came an irritated response from the other side.

* * * * *

Mitchell didn't leave the bathroom for over an hour, sitting with his back against the wall, head back and arms wrapped around himself. He never opened the door whenever one of his siblings knocked, not even for Lacy or Piper. Oh, it wasn’t as if none of his siblings tried to convince him to open the door - Lacy quietly and calmly spoke to him through the door, gently pleading for her older brother to come out and talk to her; Piper tried to talk him into letting her in so she could counsel him, offer him a comforting hug and friendly ear to his troubles; Drew outright tried to Charmspeak him into opening the door, until Piper dragged her away, telling her that forcing Mitchell to talk was not going to help anything.

Eventually, his siblings all left the cabin again and, looking at his watch, Mitchell knew they were heading to the dining pavilion for dinner. He probably should have joined them, having had not much more than the few strawberries earlier to eat since his granola for breakfast that morning. The thing was, he really wasn’t hungry, he didn’t particularly want to be around people, he still had a headache, and he just didn’t want to do anything but crawl into bed.

Except that his suitcase was still there from earlier, a pile of half-folded clothes beside it, and it looked like one of his siblings had left some snacks for him, as if anticipating that Mitchell wouldn’t be coming to dinner. It wasn’t much, certainly not enough to actually constitute a meal; just a couple of power bars and an apple, enough to tide him over if he decided to eat after all. A note left with them told him that Lacy had left the snacks and reminded him that she was there if he needed to talk to her.

Mitchell was shoving all of that to the floor, uncharacteristically uncaring about the clothes that crumpled in a pile, the snacks that fell on top of them, and the suitcase that thumped loudly against the hardwood, when there was a knock at the door.

 _Oh, no,_ Mitchell thought. _I am not answering that. It's probably Will._

Sure enough, after Mitchell refused to budge, standing by his bed and staying silent, Will's voice called through the closed door. "Are you still upset?"

"Don't make a scene," Mitchell called back, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't move towards the door, his bed close enough that he could be heard through it by raising his voice a little. "Shouldn't you be at dinner?"

"Shouldn't _you_ be?" Will countered.

"I'm not hungry."

"Could you open the door?"

Mitchell shook his head, even though he knew Will couldn't see him. "No," he replied.

_I'm not facing you after what happened earlier. Nope. Not happening._

“I could go get Cecil to come open the door,” Will pointed out.

“Yeah, right,” Mitchell shot back. “Cecil’s terrified of Drew. He wouldn’t dare come in here after last month’s fiasco with the kool-aid.” That incident, of which Mitchell would never put thought into the details for how incredibly asinine it was, had earned Cecil the wrath of Drew Tanaka and the Hermes boy had been careful to avoid the Aphrodite cabin ever since. “Nice try, William.”

He heard Will sigh through the door. “Look, Mitchell, I just want to talk.”

“That’s what you said earlier,” Mitchell pointed out. “And then you _kissed_ me.”

“You kissed _back_.”

Mitchell bit his lip, feeling his throat constrict again, that same terrible feeling from earlier returning. Heaving a sigh of his own, the son of Aphrodite let his shoulders fall and moved to go open the door. Will stood on the porch with his hands tucked into the pocket of his shorts, a look of concern and apology on his face.

“What do you want, Will?”

Will pulled one hand out of his pocket and raised it to his hair, fingers combing through his messy mop of golden-blond hair. “I’m...I came to apologize,” he explained. “You were right, in a way. The kiss was complicating things. Not for Nico or me, but for you.”

“No kidding.”

The whole thing was complicating _everything_ for MItchell. He could have eventually gotten over Will dating Nico. He could have eventually been able to hang out with his friend again without getting jealous of Nico. Eventually, he could have been able to mend his broken heart, find someone else to love, and move on. Then Nico had suggested the three of them get together, Will had told him that he’d been interested in him all along, and then he’d kissed Will in the strawberry field.

Mitchell was having a really long, really complicated day. He wanted to go home, where things were simple again. At home, it was just him, the housemaids, and, depending on where his business took him, his dad. Maybe he could ask out one of the boys at school and learn to forget about Will and Nico.

“I’m sorry,” Will continued, cutting into Mitchell’s reverie. “I just...when Nico came to me and asked if I’d be interested in dating you, I couldn’t lie. I thought I’d broken his heart when I said I was.”

“If you were so interested in dating me, why didn’t you just _tell_ me?” Mitchell interrupted. He needed to know. Will had said earlier that he’d tried to hint that he liked MItchell, thought that Mitchell wasn’t interested. Why had Will been so easily able to ask Nico out, but hadn’t been able to do that with Mitchell in all this time?  “Why did you go to _him_ first, when I’ve been here all these years?”

Will gave a soft sigh, dropping his gaze to his sandaled feet. “I told you, I tried. I was an awkward idiot who couldn’t tell a cute Aphrodite kid I liked him. I thought maybe you’d catch on and then there was the incident in the infirmary, but I couldn’t tell if you were being serious or if it was the sedatives.”

“Oh my gods, I actually did say it, then?”

Will nodded. “You didn’t say anything in the morning about it, so I convinced myself it was the sedatives.”

Mitchell raised an eyebrow. “Why would you convince yourself - ”

“Awkward idiot, remember?”

“You weren’t.”

“Not that you could see,” Will pointed out. “Ask Austin, I was always a nervous wreck whenever I talked to him about you.”

“Not sure I believe you could ever be an awkward idiot or a nervous wreck, but that all leaves me still wondering why you still went to Nico first.”

Will’s hand found its way into his hair again, shoving his bangs out of his face as he sighed. “Mitchell, I thought you weren’t interested,” he told Mitchell, reiterating what he’d said earlier in the strawberry fields. “I couldn’t tell if I was being too subtle with letting you keep my hoodie, for picking you for demonstration during archery lessons, or if you got the hint and didn’t care. So when I started to like Nico, I decided I had to be more direct or risk missing a chance with him, too.”

“‘Missing a chance’?” Mitchell repeated, incredulously. He couldn’t believe Will at that moment. “You didn’t _miss_ a chance with me, you never _took_ one! You couldn’t decide to be more direct with _me_ after all your subtleties failed?” His fingernails dug into his palms as he balled his fists, distress and disappointment coloring his voice. “How can you say you _tried_ with me when you clearly _didn’t_?”

“It’s not like _you_ tried, either!” Will retorted defensively. It was a weak argument and they both knew it. Will snapped his mouth shut the moment after the words fell from his lips and MItchell crossed his arms over his chest. Silence fell between them for a moment, a tenseness in the air around them. “I’m sorry.”

Mitchell shook his head. He wasn’t doing this anymore. “I’m closing the door,” he announced, stepping back so he could do so.

“Wait!” Will stepped forward, hand against the door to keep Mitchell from closing it on him. He looked at the son of Aphrodite, a pleading expression on his face. “Mitchell, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t try hard enough with you before. I’m sorry I’m trying too hard now. I like you a lot, Mitchell. But I won’t hurt you anymore. I’ll just go.”

With that, Will let go of the door and turned to leave. Mitchell bit his lip, standing at the door with his eyes on the retreating son of Apollo. Will Solace was walking away from him, after confessing to liking Mitchell all along. If it was one of those silly romance films that his sisters enjoyed so much - okay, he liked them too, admittedly - this would be the moment where Mitchell ran after Will, caught his wrist, and kissed the other boy when he turned around, climatic music playing in the background as it inexplicably started to rain.

But it wasn’t one of those silly romance films. Mitchell couldn’t just run after Will and fix everything with a kiss. That wasn’t how things really worked, right? It’d just make everything even more complicated, they’d all end up hurt, and Mitchell couldn’t do that to Nico or Will, never mind himself.

On the other hand, Will liked him. Nico liked him. He liked both of them. Yes, he liked Will a _lot_ more than he liked Nico, but the spark was there. Why _couldn’t_ he join them and let himself fall in love with Nico, too? It would just take time, wouldn’t it? He’d known Will for years, had been crushing on him for most of those years. He’d known Nico for years, too, but hadn’t ever really gotten much of a chance to get to know him, much less develop a crush on the younger boy. Ever since Nico decided to stay at camp, though, MItchell had been hanging out with the son of Hades, befriending him surprisingly easily.

There _had_ been a couple of rumors that Mitchell and Nico were dating for a while before word about Will and Nico had gotten out, effectively shutting down the previous rumors. Mitchell was sure there were already rumors going around about him and Will - he didn’t doubt that _someone_ had seen the two of them at the strawberry fields; it was a big camp, full of gossiping demigods, nymphs, and satyrs. Even if someone at camp hadn’t seen them, one of the gods surely had, since they all peeked in at the camp from Olympus from time to time.

Any and all rumors aside, Mitchell had a choice right now: go after Will or lose him all over again before he ever had him. It wasn’t an easy choice at all. As much as he thought he couldn’t share Will, worried that this wasn’t fair to Nico, terrified that this wouldn’t work out and end up hurting both Will and Nico, Mitchell couldn’t let this chance go by.

“Will, wait!”

Mitchell ran after Will, catching up to him easily, for the other boy was hardly moving quickly. As Will turned around, Mitchell caught his wrist, stood on his toes and leaned in, capturing the son of Apollo’s lips with his own. It didn’t start inexplicably raining as they kissed, there was no dramatic music in the background, and Will was so surprised he hardly kissed back. Mitchell ended the kiss quickly, feeling his face heating up, no doubt in his mind that his cheeks were as red as the Ares cabin. He took a step back, ducking his head and looking away from Will.

_What was I thinking? This was stupid, I shouldn’t have -_

Will’s hands were cupping his face then, gently tipping his head up so Mitchell was facing the older demigod. Mitchell wanted to pull away, embarrassed, but Will kept him there, his eyes, bluer than the summer sky and filled with confusion, desire, and _hope_ , focused on the son of Aphrodite.

“Mitchell, make up your mind, for gods’ sakes,” he murmured. He leaned forward, touching his forehead to Mitchell’s. Mitchell could feel Will’s hands trembling against his jaw, tension and anticipation causing the older boy to shake. “I can’t tell what you’re thinking. One minute, you’re closing the door on me, the next you’re chasing after me and kissing me.”

“ _I_ can’t tell what I’m thinking,” Mitchell admitted. He brought his hands up to hold Will’s wrists lightly and closed his eyes with a soft sigh. He was confused and scared by the offer Nico and Will had both given him, wanting to be with Will, but hesitant to hurt Nico just because he wanted to be with Will. He knew the offer wasn’t for him to be with Will; it was for him to be with both of them. That was what gave him trouble, what made him so uncertain about a decision. He couldn’t lie about that. “Will, I don’t know if I can do this. I like you. I like you a lot.”

“You love me,” Will corrected softly. A tiny smile crossed his lips when MItchell’s eyes opened to meet his. “You think I can’t tell? You wouldn’t be so hurt by all of this if you didn’t love me.”

“If you could tell, why didn’t you say something _before_?” Mitchell huffed slightly and let go of Will’s wrists. Will let go of Mitchell’s face and caught his hands a moment later. “The problem is that I don’t feel the same for Nico as I do for you. I like him, but not as much as I like you. I won’t be unfair to him.”

“That’s why we give this a try,” Will pointed out, still holding Mitchell’s hands. “Nico and I have been talking about it, ever since he brought up the idea. He’s willing to try this if we are. It’ll take effort, we’ll have to figure it out as we go, but we could make this work.”

Mitchell heaved a sigh. “Why is Nico so insistent on this?”

“Because I like you.”

Mitchell turned to look over his shoulder, catching sight of Nico behind him. He’d never heard the son of Hades approach, but that was pretty typical of Nico. Even without using his shadow traveling powers, the boy was able to move silently and sneak up on people. Though he was pretty well used to it now that he’d become friends with Nico, it still surprised Mitchell from time to time - like now, when Mitchell was holding hands with Nico’s boyfriend and discussing potentially being in a polygamous relationship with them.

“Nico, how long have you - “

“Have I been standing here?” Nico gave a shrug. “A couple minutes. I came after I saw you and Will weren’t at dinner. Speaking of which, it’ll be over any minute, so if we’re going to talk, we should probably do it somewhere more private than the middle of the cabin green.”

“Fair point,” Will spoke up before Mitchell could. He looked to Nico. “Your cabin?”

“It’s about as private as we can get here,” Nico replied.

Nico moved to lead the other two boys towards his cabin. Will kept hold of one of Mitchell’s hands, leaving Mitchell little choice but to go along with them. The Hades cabin wasn’t far from where they were at any rate. Nico opened the door and waited for the other two to go inside before joining them, closing the door behind him.

The cabin had been going under a slow process of redecoration over the last several weeks since Nico had decided to stay at camp. Where it had once been dark, gloomy, and full of macabre decor that might have once had Mitchell refusing to step foot into the cabin, NIco had been putting a lot of work into making the inside of the cabin look less creepy and more tasteful, more livable. There were a few gothic touches to the cabin, but it was overall lighter inside, more welcoming, and easier to deal with. The coffin-like bunks that had been put in when the cabin had been built were gone, replaced by a couple of old-fashioned, black iron four-poster beds - one for Nico and one for Hazel, when she came over to stay for the weekend as part of the exchange program between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. Nico was still re-decorating, boxes of supplies and decor tucked into one corner of the cabin, ready for whenever the son of Hades had a break from camp activities and hanging out with friends to actually work on his cabin.

Nico gestured to a table set up near the window. The blinds were closed so no one could look in to see the boys together, so they all took a seat around the table. Nico moved a few textbooks and a stack of loose papers out of the way before sitting down to face Mitchell and Will. For a few long minutes, the three of them didn’t actually talk.

Mitchell felt incredibly awkward in the silence, not sure whether to speak up or let Nico or Will start whatever conversation they’d brought him here for. He began picking at the hem of his camp shirt, tearing the thread of the hem and pulling it loose, then used his power - his only real ability, gifted from his mother, was his nemakinesis, the ability to manipulate cloth - to repair the hem once more. So absorbed in his nervous habit, Mitchell almost missed it when Nico spoke up at last.

“I think the three of us need to discuss this together,” Nico began. He turned to Mitchell, his brown eyes focusing on the son of Aphrodite with a soft kindness that Mitchell had noted few really saw. “We’ve been going at this wrong and I think we kind of threw you for a loop.”

“Kind of,” Mitchell agreed, unable to hold back the slightly sarcastic undertone in his voice. Nico didn’t seemed to be bothered by it. He, in fact, just gave Mitchell a small smile. “I’m still not sure why you even brought this idea up in the first place, Nico.”

“Mitchell, I’m...I’m not very good at expressing myself,” Nico told him, sitting back in his chair. The son of Hades brought one leg up, heel propped on the edge of his seat. He picked at the tear in the knee of his black jeans, mirroring MItchell’s previous actions. “I’ve never been good at it. I honestly don’t know how I’m supposed to admit to liking someone. I managed with Percy because I was tired of lying, to him and to myself. So I told him the truth. I mean, there was still the lie that I didn’t like him anymore, but I needed that lie to move on.”

“I remember,” MItchell nodded.

“I didn’t know this,” Will spoke up, looking just a little put out.

Nico gave Will an apologetic look. “I’m getting over him now. I’m actually moving on. Isn’t that more important than a little white lie?” He pulled one of the loose threads in his jeans almost completely from the tear before Mitchell couldn’t bear it and manipulated the thread back in place, using his power to fix the tear. Nico shot him a half-glare that was ruined by the amused smirk on his lips. “Excuse you, Mitchell Reddy. I thought we agreed you’d leave the tears in my jeans alone.”

“Yeah, well, if you wanna be my lover, you gotta deal with my insatiable need to fix your wardrobe,” Mitchell shot back.

Will gave a snort of amusement while Nico’s cheeks turned pink. Mitchell let a smile cross his lips, relaxing a little around the other two boys. As stressful as the rest of the day, the past week, really, had been when it came to Nico and Will, actually sitting down with them was easy. The two of them acted so natural around each other, Nico’s cool demeanor countered by Will’s bright warmth. In the weeks since Nico had decided to stay at camp, his growing friendship with Will had begun to melt the icy shield he’d put around himself. Mitchell hadn’t noticed it before, thinking - perhaps selfishly - that it was his own budding friendship with the son of Hades that had helped Nico open up.

Nico cleared his throat, running his hand over his face. “Okay, okay, I’ll let you get away with messing with my wardrobe,” he conceded, a look of defeat on his face. He looked to Mitchell, crossing his arms over his chest. “So are you going to accept?”

“You still haven’t explained why you want me to,” Mitchell pointed out, absently picking at the hem of his shirt. “We got a little sidetracked.”

“Actually not that sidetracked,” Nico told him. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table in front of him. “I told you, I’m not good at expressing myself. I’ve spent years denying my feelings and rejecting social contact. It’s a hard habit to break.” Nico tapped his fingers on the surface of the table, biting his lip for a moment, as though thinking over what he was going to say. “The truth is that I like you a lot, Mitchell. Just like I like Will a lot.”

“And you never said anything because you’re ‘not good at expressing yourself’, right?”

Nico gave a sigh. “That and, despite everything, I still get...scared about liking someone,” he admitted. “I know, we talked about this when I talked to you about Percy, but I can’t...it takes time to accept and change my view of myself.” He tightened his arms over his chest, taking a deep, slow breath. “I was too nervous to ask you out. Then Will asked me out and we all wound up here.”

“And here is where we’re staying until we get all of this sorted out,” Will put in. He put his hand on Nico’s shoulder and looked at Mitchell.

Mitchell tried not to feel the pang of jealousy that was bubbling up inside him as Will’s hand rested on Nico’s shoulder; if he was going to accept the offer to date Will and Nico both, he needed to stop feeling so envious of the son of Hades, just because Will had asked him out first. If he were to be honest, Mitchell still wasn't convinced he could share the boy he loved, but he really didn't want to pass up what might be his only chance with the son of Apollo.

“I know you don’t like me as much as you like Will,” Nico told MItchell, voice still quiet and steady. It was clear he was forcing himself to face the nervousness and fear he’d just spoken of, a huge step for the introverted son of Hades. “I heard you before I interrupted. I’m not going to push you to go out with me and Will if you’re not comfortable with this.”

“I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with it or not,” Mitchell said. He picked at his hem again, breaking the thread and pulling it gently from its stitches, the smooth movement from stitch to stitch calming Mitchell’s ADHD mind as he watched. He bent his finger lightly over the thread and let the hem remake itself, influenced by his power. “It’s not like I’ve ever been part of a three-way relationship.”

He’d had boyfriends before, to be sure.  It wasn’t as though he’d pined for Will and refused to have anyone _but_ Will. Mitchell had dated Travis Stoll for a while and broken up with him, then dated Clovis for a brief time before ending the relationship because having a narcoleptic boyfriend just didn’t work for him. There was even the boy at his school that he’d dated for a few months before they’d been caught and the other boy’s parents had moved him to a different school. All his previous relationships, as short and barely serious as most of them were, had just been him and his boyfriend at the time, not him and two boyfriends at the same time.

“None of us have,” Will pointed out. “Nico’s already told me he’s never dated before me and I’ve only had one girlfriend before I asked Nico out. This isn’t anything any of us have experience in and that’s why, if we do this, we have to work at it and learn how to balance each other.”

It was the balance part that had Mitchell hesitant to accept. How was he supposed to balance Nico and Will when he knew he had a bias in Will’s favor? Will spoke of learning a balance between them, working at the potential relationship between them. Mitchell had given thought to the idea that he could give Nico a chance, perhaps coming to like the son of Hades as much as he liked Will. In both concepts, time was crucial; it would take time for Mitchell to come to like Nico and it would take time for the three of them to find a way to make it work between them.

Nico was willing to give this relationship a shot, because he liked both Will and Mitchell. Will clearly liked Nico and Mitchell, had said that he was interested in dating both of them. It was all up to Mitchell at this point and he knew the other two boys would respect his decision. Nico had made it clear that he wasn't going to push Mitchell into an uncomfortable situation and Will, though it was clear he wanted this, wouldn't push Mitchell either. They would let him walk away and move on, if that was what he wanted.

Mitchell slowly took in a deep breath, letting the hem of his shirt go and bringing both hands up to rest on the surface of the table. "I think," he said, slowly as he let his breath out again. "I think that...we could give it a try."

Will's lips spread into a smile, blue eyes brightening at Mitchell’s agreement. Just the fact that Will was happy with Mitchell saying they could give it a try brought a small smile to the son of Aphrodite's own lips. Even Nico was smiling, one of his soft, barely there smiles that was a sure sign of how pleased he actually was - Mitchell had learned early into his friendship with Nico that the son of Hades had a hard time smiling after so much misery, that the small smiles were the easiest to get from him and some of the most genuine; Nico, he’d found, didn’t smile a lot because he was afraid of his own happiness at times, because it seemed that every time he’d been happy before, something terrible had come along to ruin things.

Not this time, Mitchell determined. Nico was finally happy again, things were finally going right for him. Mitchell would not let that happiness be taken away from Nico. If they could make this work, make it so all three of them could be happy, then what was the harm in trying? Will was right; they could make this work, with a little effort on all of their parts.

And if this was Mitchell’s chance to be with the boy he loved, he was going to take it.

“We _will_ have to take things slowly,” Nico pointed out, voice soft. The son of Hades was curled up again, his knees drawn up with his heels propped on the edge of his chair. With the tear in his jeans repaired by Mitchell’s nemakinesis, he didn’t have anything to pick at, so he was playing with one of the woven bracelets on his left wrist - a gift from Lou Ellen, who’d befriended Nico soon after the last battle, after Will had introduced Nico to his friends. “I’m not...I think we all need time to get used to this.”

"One step at a time," Will told Nico. His hand found its way back to Nico's shoulder, his touch light, as though being careful about every contact he made with Nico. "It's alright, Nico. We'll work at this together, so we're all comfortable and happy with each other. We'll take as much time as we need to get this right."

Nico gave a nod and a small smile as he looked up at Will. It wasn't hard to see in the way Nico looked at the son of Apollo how much he liked Will. Mitchell had seen that same look on the faces of those in love time and time before and, once again, he wondered how he possibly could have missed that look in the time he'd spent with Nico. It wasn't just Will that Nico looked at like that; Nico had once looked at Percy like that and, now he realized, had looked at Mitchell the same way.

In retrospect, it was even more surprising to Mitchell now how oblivious he was when it came to Nico di Angelo and the boys he liked .

"So, what now?" Mitchell found himself asking. "We're going to start dating, the three of us. How do we start this relationship?"

Nico exchanged a look with Will, a silent question and its answer passing between him, one that Mitchell couldn't decipher. Nico stood up a moment later. "Well, I think it should start like this," he said before stepping over to Mitchell and leaning down to press his lips against the other boy's.

Mitchell didn't exactly judge people by the way they kissed, but he noted how cautious and almost hesitant Nico's kiss was, as though the son of Hades was afraid that he was already overstepping his boundaries. The other boy’s lips were chapped slightly, dry against Mitchell’s lips, but gentle. Mitchell brought his hand up to cup the younger demigod’s cheek as they kissed, fingers light against Nico’s skin, letting Nico control the kiss. Nico kept the kiss very chaste, much like the earlier kisses from Will, and broke it slowly, pulling away only an inch or so when it was over.

“Will got to kiss you, it’s only fair I do, too, right?” Nico asked, a soft smile curling over his lips.

Mitchell gave a light hum as he tilted his head. “Mm, well, Will kissed me a few times, so you have a couple yet to catch up with him,” he pointed out. “Though I’m surprised Will hasn’t taught you how to kiss better than that yet.”

A soft blush dusted over Nico’s cheeks. “I...actually, that was my first kiss.”

Mitchell’s eyebrow shot up. “Really now?” he asked with a slight smirk and an amused tone in his voice. He looked over to Will. “You let this boy date you this long without kissing him?”

Will gave a small shrug. “I know he’s nervous about physical contact,” he explained. “The fact that he kissed you is actually a pretty big step for him.” He moved over to the other two boys, hands coming to rest on Mitchell’s shoulders as he looked at Nico. “That’s one of the things we’ll need to work on with this relationship, but we’ll take it slow, like you and I agreed when I asked you out.”

Nico nodded. “Thanks.”

He gave a soft smile, then stood and leaned over Mitchell a bit so he could kiss Will, too, just as lightly and careful as he’d kissed Mitchell. A brief streak of jealousy shot through Mitchell as he sank beneath the other two boys, head tilting up to see Nico kissing Will, and it took a moment for him to push down the envy. Nico kissing Will wasn’t supposed to be a problem, he reminded himself. The three of them were getting together, so there was no reason to get so jealous. He’d have to work on that.

As Nico broke the kiss, Mitchell slipped out of his chair and stood up. “Since we have that all settled, I hope you two are planning a good first date for the three of us. I expect proper romance from you both.”

Will smiled at him. “I have some plans in mind. But those will have to wait. It’s getting late. Campfire’s probably almost over, so we should get back to our own cabins.” He leaned over to Nico, taking a chance and pressing a light kiss against the son of Hades’ cheek, smiling still when Nico neither tensed nor protested. He turned back to Mitchell again. “C’mon. I’ll walk you back to your cabin.”

Mitchell gave a nod and started to head for the door with Will.

“Come see me after breakfast tomorrow,” Nico told them as Will opened the door. “I want to hang out with you guys.”

“We’ll see you then,” Will promised. He took Mitchell’s hand and led him out of the cabin.

* * * * *

Campfire was still going on across the cabin green, far enough away that they wouldn’t be spotted coming out of the Hades cabin, but Mitchell could easily hear the cheerful camp songs echoing across the lawn in the quiet late evening. Will’s hand was warm in his, the older boy’s fingers tangled in his as they walked towards the Aphrodite cabin. Neither of them spoke, both unwilling to break the silence and disturb the ambience around them. For the first time since finding out that Nico and Will were together, Mitchell’s heart and mind were finally at peace and he felt he could enjoy camp again.

Will stopped on the porch of the Aphrodite cabin, giving Mitchell’s hand a light squeeze. “I’m really glad we got this settled,” he told Mitchell. “I know this is a little different from just asking you out, but I think we’ve really got a chance to make this work.”

Mitchell squeezed back at Will’s hand, a small smile crossing his lips. “Yeah. We’ve just gotta work at it, right?” He knew it was going to take a lot of effort on his part because, despite accepting the offer to date both Will and NIco, he knew he had that bias towards Will. It still felt a bit strange to him, to date two boys when he loved one of them and only liked the other, but that was why they were going to take things slow, one step at a time. “We can do it. I don’t want to mess this up.”

“You won’t.” Will leaned in and pressed a kiss against Mitchell’s forehead. “I have faith in you.”

Mitchell’s smile fell slightly and he gave a small sigh. “I don’t know. I was about to leave before you came to my cabin. I was half-packed. That’s how much I was ready to run, to avoid both of you.”

“But you changed your mind.”

“I didn’t want to miss my chance with you,” Mitchell pointed out. He ducked his head, dropping his gaze to his feet. It all came down to Will and how Mitchell wasn’t willing to lose what would probably be his only chance to finally be with the boy he’d fallen in love with. “I’m...I’m willing to give Nico a chance, too, but - ”

Will brought his hand under Mitchell’s chin and tilted his head back up. “Hey, we’re all nervous about this. We’re all willing to give this a chance. That’s what’s important, Mitchell. No matter what happens, I’m happy we all have this chance.”

“So am I,” Mitchell replied.

It was the truth, he realized. Even if he was worried about being unfair to Nico, he was glad that he’d accepted the other boy’s offer. The tension and heartbreak he’d been feeling over the past week was slowly beginning to melt away, from the moment he’d agreed to try this with Will and Nico.

“So don’t worry so much,” Will told him. “We’re going to be fine. Just promise me one thing?”

Mitchell blinked at him. “Yeah?”

“Don’t give up on us.” Will shifted his hand, bringing his palm against Mitchell’s cheek. “I know this isn’t going to be easy. No relationship is. But if you think something isn’t working out, don’t run away from us. Talk to me. Talk to Nico. I don’t want to lose you. Either of you. I asked Nico to make the same promise and I’ve made it, too. I don’t want any of us to be hurt.”

“I don’t want to hurt you or Nico, either.” That was the reason he’d been so hesitant about this whole arrangement. He didn’t want to lose Will. He didn’t want to lose Nico. He certainly didn’t want to hurt either of them. So Mitchell nodded, taking a slow, deep breath. “I promise, Will. I won’t give up on any of us.”

“Good.” Will smiled and leaned in, pressing his lips against Mitchell’s in a slow, gentle kiss. “Then I’ll see you after breakfast tomorrow with Nico?”

“I’ll be there.”

Will gave him one last smile, then pulled away and started to head towards his own cabin, just a couple of doors down. Mitchell watched him go and, when Will looked back and gave a small wave, Mitchell returned it with a soft smile before turning to open the door to his cabin. As he crossed to his bunk, picked up his suitcase, and started to unpack again, it seemed as though things were starting to feel right again. Where the past week had him dreading the cheerful pink of his cabin, coming to terms with the relationship between Nico and Will and then letting himself become part of that relationship, the color that surrounded him brought his usual smile back to his lips.

Forget the white flag he’d been ready to raise in the face of losing the boy he loved. It would not fly today or any time in the near future. Mitchell Reddy did not surrender to a broken heart.


End file.
